** Indicates rolling admission application process. Applicants will be immediately notified of acceptance into this program and be able to complete post-decision materials prior to the term's application deadline.

This program is an upper-division course focused on African studies. The curriculum includes lectures at the University of Ghana, guest lecturers at various community sites, and group discussion and reflection sessions that include University of Ghana students.

Outside the classroom, students will have an opportunity to visit sacred shrines, attend festivals, observe ceremonies, meet with traditional medical practitioners and researchers, see kente weavers at work, visit stool carving villages and sample traditional Akan cuisine. This program also includes a short homestay to better understand daily life in Ghana. Students will also participate in service-learning projects that address the needs of the local community.

The Ghana program runs every other summer and will run in 2018.

LOCATION

Ghana is on the west coast of Africa. The landscape varies from an expansive coastline to rolling savannahs, dense forest, and mountains. The history of Ghana includes a rich history of diverse peoples, including one of the largest and most well-known groups of people known as the Akan. When the Portuguese invaded in 1471, they found a people rich in history, culture, and gold. In fact, under British rule, Ghana was known as the Gold Coast. In 1957, through the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana was the first African country to gain its independence from its European colonizer.

ACADEMICS

AFAM 3998 or PSYCH 3998

Ghanaian History, Culture & Psychology Course

4 Units

Professor Dr. Deanna Cooke
FLAG: Engaged Learning

In this course, we will learn about West African history, worldview, culture, science, psychology, and philosophy. Students will experience personal development through the increased consciousness of one’s own ethnocultural identity in a historical, contemporary, and global context. The curriculum includes lectures at the University of Ghana, guest lecturers at various community sites, and group discussion and reflection sessions that include University of Ghana students. Outside the classroom, students will have an opportunity to visit sacred shrines, attend festivals, observe ceremonies, meet with traditional medical practitioners and researchers, see Kente weavers at work, visit stool carving villages and enjoy traditional Akan cuisine. Students may also have the opportunity to participate in community-based learning projects.

For non-AFAM majors, the course should count as a general elective.

HOUSING AND MEALS

Students will be offered double/triple occupancy housing and provided with two meals a day. A homestay with a Ghanian family is also included in the trip.

CULTURAL EXCURSIONS

An Accra city tour, visiting the National Museum and the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum

A visit to Makola Market and Black Star Square, the National Arts and Crafts Centre and Aburi Garden

Several days at the University of Ghana

Kumasi City Tour with a visit to the National Cultural Center, Prempeh II, Jubilee Museum and the Military Museum, the only inland fort in Ghana, followed by a drive to Manhyia Place and a tour of the Palace Museum

A visit to Lake Bosomtwi

A visit to the Ashanti Craft Villages to see weavers, stool carvers, tie and dye processes

A stop at Assin Manso where the remains of the enslaved African ancestors from the United States and Jamaica are buried. Here students will lay a wreath in their memory

A two-day visit to the Slave Dungeons

A night out on the town in Accra

TENTATIVE ITINERARY

Orientation meetings prior to the U.S. departure

Study tour with daily lectures, roundtables, and excursions

Lectures at the University of Ghana

Roundtable discussions and shared lectures with students from University of Ghana